Second chance through SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

by Robyn Carstens

In April 2022 thirteen Medium A and B offenders at DCS Voorberg received a National Qualification in Plant and Animal Production NQF4 and fourteen received a skills competency certificate. A further twenty received attendance certificates for various courses completed.

EElsenburg Agricultural Training Institute (EATI) facilitates the National Certificate: Plant Production and the National Certificate: Animal Production both on level 4 of the National Qualification Framework (NQF4).

In line with an agreement signed between the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA) and the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), these training programmes were offered to incarcerated offenders since 2019.

It was a proud moment for the incarcerated graduates when the Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer, announced: “You are graduating from the Institution that has survived the test of time since 1898. You are allowed to walk and talk differently now.” Offenders receiving a certificate that gives them the skills to walk away with a second chance is a step in the right direction.

Dr Mogale Sebopetsa, WCDoA Head of Department, and Delekile Klaas, Regional Commissioner for the Western Cape DCS, signed a renewed official operational agreement between the two departments in October 2021 to set further agricultural training interventions into motion.

Speaking at the operational agreement signing ceremony, Delekile expressed that this collaboration is a contribution to the fight against crime. “To fight crime, we must defeat poverty by building sustainable communities. We are trying to make sure that DCS becomes self-sufficient. At Voorberg for example, we produce our own milk. It remains our obligation to give offenders skills in order to give them a better chance.”

As part of the renewed agreement, the WCDoA, through its Programme: Agricultural Education and Training (AET), will ensure arrangements with the DCS to provide placement of graduate interns and learnership students on the DCS farms across the Western Cape to secure Workplace Integrated Learning as part of their studies.

Dr Sebopetsa thanked everyone that played a solid role to get the collaboration to where it is today. “We are not signing to say what we are going to do but what we are already doing. As partners we must work seamlessly and engage every six months to keep each other accountable and attend to any glitches.”

At any given time, there are 25 000 offenders in correctional service facilities across the Western Cape – 80% of which are young men and women.

The WCDoA and the DCS have therefore deemed it of utmost importance to unlock the full potential of offenders through agriculture by formalising this strategic partnership to focus on skills development of incarcerated offenders in order to ensure a smoother reintegration into society. AP